Scars of The Heart
by lazerbem
Summary: There is only so much pain a man can take before he begins to mirror the pain that's been inflicted on him. AU Fic post-Revival of F with a dark!Gohan.
1. Destruction

Gohan's gaze fell upon Freeza, the half-saiyan resisting the urge to laugh at the fallen tyrant. Vegeta was giving the warlord a beating, causing Freeza's "golden form" to simply fade away as one particularly heavy blow knocked him into some rocks.

"W-why you..." the alien hissed, falling to his knees in an impotent rage. "Impossible!" he wailed, beginning to punch the ground in a childish display of anger that would look more at home on a a toddler. Gohan couldn't help but smirk at Freeza's distress. It was what the tyrant deserved, at the very least. It was a good thing that Vegeta could pick up the slack for Gohan's father. At that thought, Gohan tuned out of the dialogue between Freeza and Vegeta(no doubt it was simply Freeza squealing) and turned to look at his father, now standing after the Senzu Bean that had healed him. Gohan felt nothing but cold disappointment in his heart for Goku at this moment. His own father had nearly killed them all by toying with Freeza. Were it not for Vegeta's new-found strength, they would have all been finished. The firstborn of Goku suddenly whipped around, his focus on Freeza once more. The psychopath's ki had spiked.

"The same goes for you all!" Freeza squealed, planting his hand towards the ground and releasing a shockwave through the Earth. Gohan turned deathly pale, recognizing this at once. Freeza had rigged the game. The planet would be obliterated and he would emerge as the sole survivor. Everyone on Earth would be killed in the ensuing explosion and even if they survived that, the vacuum of space would do them in. Already the ground was shaking, lava spewing out of the dying planet. Gohan could barely think anymore, sheer despair crushing the depths of his soul. It shouldn't be like this, nothing should be getting destroyed by the insane pride of an immature madman. The heat licked at Gohan's face now, before lava erupted right in front of him. "I WIN!" was the last thing Gohan heard before his world faded to white.

Gohan felt as if his body was made of jelly, refusing to move no matter what he wanted. It hardly mattered, he couldn't see anything. Was he dead? It seemed like a reasonable assumption to make. Gohan felt his heart shatter into a million pieces as he suddenly realized that his family would have been caught in the blast. His mother, his wife, even his little daughter. All of them were surely dead. Gohan felt his heart rate accelerate, trying to tell himself it was all a dream. Yes, just a terrible dream. The rationalization didn't stop him from barely being able to breathe. Maybe he could focus himself by attempting to pinpoint the cause of all this mayhem. Yes, he'd try to figure out who to direct his anguish at. Freeza was the first culprit to come to his mind. After all, he was the one who had destroyed the planet. But he had been enabled to do so by the negligence of Vegeta, so perhaps it was Vegeta's fault? No, Vegeta had not known that Freeza could survive in space, he couldn't have possibly expected Freeza to try this. That left the blame for this squarely upon the shoulders of one person: Son Goku. He had known that Freeza would try to cheat when all hope was lost, he had seen it himself. And still he had mocked and belittled the tyrant whilst keeping him alive. Yes, this was all Goku's fault, Gohan realized.

"This is due to your foolishness" said a voice, cutting through the whiteness that had surrounded Gohan. Gohan blinked rapidly and realized he was alive, in some sort of bubble. Inside the bubble were Whis, Beers, Goku, Bulma, Tien, Krillin, Piccolo, Master Roshi, Jaco, and himself. Someone must have shielded them from the blast, most likely Whis or Beers. Gohan knew that anger was not a wise route to take. Maybe he could come up with a plan of some sort to help them. But he hardly cared. He just knew that he was alive whilst the majority of his family lay dead, all due to his father's incompetence. This was no dream, this was reality. He would never hear the laughter of his little girl as she grew up, never see his wife's face smile, never taste his mother's food. Their lives were shattered, obliterated in an instant due to Goku's lust for a good fight.

"They're all dead" Gohan hissed, cutting off Beers's next words. The Hakaioshin gave him an odd look before smiling knowingly and closing his mouth. "Chi-Chi, Goten, Videl, Pan...all of them are gone" the hybrid growled, clenching his fists as he trembled. Hot, shameful tears ran down his face as he turned to look at the only surviving member of his family. "You did this! You killed them all!" Gohan accused Goku, feeling a heat that he had not felt since Videl's beating rising through him.

"What are you talking about?" Goku replied, his eyes wide and confused. Was his father so stupid as to not understand what had happened? Was he mocking his pain? "Freeza did it"

"You let him do it! You could have just killed him, but you just had to get your good fight, didn't you?" Gohan snarled, blood streaming through his fingers as his nails cut into his palms. Anger had clouded Gohan's normally logical mind, his mind ignoring all other noises and sights except for the supposed cause of all his pain. He might have felt Piccolo trying to hold him back. He might have heard the shocked gasps of Krillin and Bulma. He might have heard Whis's plan to save them. But he didn't. He felt his wrath that was normally hidden from sight begin to rise, his aura turning golden. The monster that had fought Cell was coming awake.

With an anguished roar of pain, the son of Goku flew forth, sparks crackling in his aura as he attempted to destroy the father who had destroyed his family and home.


	2. Aimed

Gohan's left leg swung out, enough force behind it to have torn off Dabra's head. But such power was nothing to the godly Saiyan. Goku's right arm jerked up instinctively, blocking the attack without even looking particularly strained. Gohan's teeth gritted as his rage crashed against Goku, and yet did nothing. With a terrible cry, Gohan tried to scissor his father's head with his legs. Gohan did not care that that move could be fatal. He just wanted to hurt the man who had taken everything from him. Even in that, Gohan was unable to succeed as Goku casually blocked the strikes once more. The futility of his attacks only drove Gohan on. He needed to do something. He needed to make up for the lives of his family, destroyed by the incompetence of his father. More than ever, Gohan hated having stopped training. Logically, it wouldn't have made a difference. But logic was not high on Gohan's priorities right now.

"Gohan, calm down! Just listen to Whis!" Goku ordered, slipping under Gohan's guard. He had to stop his son. He was the only one strong enough to. In a single swift movement, Goku grabbed Gohan's right arm, twisting it behind the half-Saiyan's back. Gohan struggled and screamed, the tears streaming down his face freely now. To be pinned down and helpless, like a little child, it was unbearable for him. "Stop it, Gohan!" Goku growled, twisting Gohan's arm even more. Goku's eyes were narrow and cold, a look not dissimilar to the one Freeza had received on Namek. Upon that thought, Goku froze. He didn't feel any different when holding down his son as compared to when he was battling monsters like Freeza. Was that something to be ashamed of? Was there a little bit of truth in Gohan's words. That split second hesitation was all Gohan needed. Like an animal in a trap, Gohan wriggled and twisted wildly, tearing free of Goku's hold with a sickening pop.

"I-i'lll...make you pay!" Gohan managed to growl, lifting up his left arm. His right arm hung limply, blood streaming from it. One could see a bloodstained bone poking through the flesh of his bicep. In his anguish, Gohan ignored the pain from his ruined arm and focused on gathering his ki into his left. Gohan's yellow ki shuddered violently, twisting and crackling as it warped around Gohan. Streaks of gray began to pollute the normally golden aura as Gohan's fingers formed a ki blast in his left hand. It was a mirror of how he looked when he had killed Cell. But now, it was Goku staring down a Kamehameha. As the blue beam began to expand, Gohan began chanting those words. "Ka...Me...Ha...Me!". The small amount of land that the Z-Fighters stood on trembled, almost like it feared its impending destruction. Gohan was deaf to the cries of his friends, pleading for him to not doom them all. All he saw was his father. The person who had led Raditz to Earth. The person who had led to Namek's destruction. The person who had led to the creation of the Androids. The person who had led to the release of Majin Boo. The person who had led to the destruction of the Earth. The cause of so much strife and suffering. Gohan would finish him. Just as he thrust forth his hand, it felt like starbursts exploded in front of his eyes.

The world swam in front of Gohan's eyes. He tried to finish his chant, but his lips refused to work. It was as if the energy had left his body and had been replaced with lead. No, he needed to get moving. He needed to get revenge. But his body didn't get the message and slowly slackened. Gohan's eyes drifted to his ruined arm and in an instant, the pain hit him. It was excruciating. It was Hell beyond any other physical pain he had felt. But it was tiny compared to the pain he had felt upon the deaths of his family. Videl, Chi-Chi, Goten, Pan. They were all dead and he couldn't even take revenge for them. It was a small mercy that Gohan's consciousness ended only seconds later.

"He was liable to destroy our little sanctuary. That simply would not have gone well" Whis said with a click of his tongue, gently lowering Gohan by his shirt to the ground. "Don't worry, he'll be up soon enough. I have plenty of practice knocking out people who are angry for all the wrong reasons"

"Gohan!" Piccolo called out, rushing for his student's fallen body. It recalled a moment when Piccolo had to restart Gohan's heart after Freeza had stopped it. This time, Gohan's pulse was fine. It was the heart Piccolo could not fix that had been damaged. The Namekian looked at Gohan's ruined arm, wincing as he did so. Saiyans could survive some horrific injuries, that was true. But a wound of this caliber, while not fatal, would leave the young man deformed and crippled for life. Piccolo was no healer, but he had to at least help a little. With a small flash of yellow magic, a pillow had materialized beneath Gohan's head, a blanket had been placed on him, and a crude sling and cast had been placed on Gohan's mangled limb.

"I didn't mean to do that" Goku murmured, looking at his broken son. Even after Whis had knocked him unconscious, Gohan's face twisted in a fitful and unrestful sleep. Even Goku could understand that Gohan's fury was, in some part, his fault. The godly Saiyan leaned against the side of the bubble, letting out a deep sigh and massaging his brow. "Damn...if I could just do things over"

"Well, you could have. But battling your brat took up our time" Beers interjected, looking rather pleased at this turn of events. He was met with a glare from every Z-Fighter present. "It's true. Whis can only turn back time three minutes. By my count, we're too late to stop Freeza now" the cat shrugged, his eyes focusing on Gohan.

"So that's it then? Earth is gone?" Tien asked, fists balling. When he dedicated his life to battle, he did not imagine it would end like this. Trapped in a bubble that contained the last remnants of his home, that was hardly the fate of a warrior.

"No. We still have the Namekian Dragon Balls" said Piccolo, moving away from Gohan and looking at the stars. He couldn't let anyone else see his stoic facade cracking. "We've brought back the Earth with them once. We can do it again"

"Bah, Dragon Balls bring back way too many planets" Beers complained, his voice getting an annoyed edge to it that was not dissimilar from a spoiled child learning that their toy's shipment had been stopped. "You shouldn't be able to just bring back planets like that. In fact, I won't let you"

"If we didn't, you wouldn't get delicious Earth food again" Bulma spoke out of the side of her mouth, causing Beers's ears to twitch. The cat tried to keep a stern face, crossing his arms determinedly. "Think of all that delicious pudding you'll never eat again. So creamy and fluf-" Bulma continued, shattering Beers's resolve before she could even finish her sentence.

"Fine! But I will be treated to a feast for my great patience in this event" Beers demanded, letting loose a defeated huff.

"Deal" Bulma agreed, shaking Beers's hand. She began planning the feast mentally, thinking of what food to best give to the god. It was better than thinking about the deaths of Vegeta and Trunks. If she thought about them, she knew she'd break down. No, thinking of the future where they were fine and the only thing to worry about was catering was much better

"First though, we need directions" Whis chirped, still smiling despite the direness of their situation. With a tap of his staff, the small group saw the space around them disappear. Now, there were pink clouds around their bubble and they floated above a small, green rock that was barely a planet.

"King Kai, we need directions to New Namek. Again" Goku said as he floated down from the small piece of land, the bubble no longer necessary in the presence of an atmosphere. From the small, yellow house King Kai emerged, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Yeesh, can't a guy get any sleep around here?" the overseer of the Northern Galaxy said with a yawn, expecting some sort of friendly company. His demeanor instantly changed as he saw Beers and Whis. "L-lord Beers! Sorry for my lack of courtesy. Please, what do you want?" the Kai asked, smiling widely and bowing down.

"We need instructions to tell us how to get to Namek. Could you direct us?" Whis asked, cutting off a smarmy insult from Beers.

"You don't need to go there. I can just talk to them through my antennae" King Kai said obsequiously, rising from his bow. Goku scratched the back of his head at this, smiling a little bit at the god's nervousness. Good old King Kai, always wanting to help. But Gohan needed some healing as soon as possible.

"Well, the thing is tha-" Goku started before he received a look from Piccolo. Piccolo shook his head, looking at the tearful and hissing form of the unconscious Gohan. King Kai was a terrible gossip and it would be unwise to tell him about Gohan's condition. "We just need to find a healer, that's all" Goku said in a clipped manner, the words feeling odd on his tongue. He almost never lied, but in this case, Piccolo was right.

"Oh, really? Tell me all about it when you visit again" King Kai said pleasantly before pointing to his left. "That's the direction of New Namek right now. Hope you find what you're looking for"

"Thank you!" Goku called out as Whis tapped the staff again, sending them hurtling towards Namek. All the while, Piccolo kept watch on Gohan. Gohan's ki was changing. Even in Gohan's dormant state, it was plain to see that the vigorous and lively ki of before was becoming duller. Piccolo could only hope that Namekian healers would be capable of healing ki as well as the body.


	3. Enlightening

A/N: I call Beerus "Beers" just because I've gotten used to it. It's kind of like how some people call Krillin "Kuririn" or Vegeta "Vejita". On another note, I am super sorry with my laziness with this story(and all of mine in general)

The blinding light of Namek's three suns beat down on Goku's eyes as Whis's magic faded away. The light was so intense, the Saiyan had to shield his eyes from them. It hadn't been this bright the last time he had been here. What was going on? Piccolo barely seemed affect as he gently picked up his pupil, taking care to put a cloth over his face so he wouldn't be woken. Gohan still struggled and groaned as he slept, muttering out the names of his family as he suffered through some sort of terrible nightmare. Notably absent was Goku's name in those delirious ramblings.

"Ooh, this'll be a good place to work on my tan" Beers noted, falling onto his back and putting his arms behind his head. His actions garnered a chuckle from Whis whilst the rest of the Z-Fighters groaned and rolled their eyes. "Whis, you can stay here and tell me when one side is done" Beers commanded as he closed his eyes, almost immediately falling into a catnap. So far as the god of destruction saw, Whis was his servant. This was belief was only reaffirmed as Whis stood there, obeying the cat.

"Guys, you can stay here with Whis" Goku said, turning to his allies.

"What? But why?" Krillin asked, immediately shutting up upon a glare from Tien. "Hehe, right. Your privacy and Gohan's is important. Uh, well, good luck then. We'll be guarding the home base here!" Krillin chuckled, waving at Goku and Piccolo and scratching his head. That had been an embarrassing moment for sure. Thankfully, Piccolo only snorted and Goku gave a thumbs up before touching Piccolo by the shoulder and disappearing. That Instant Transmission business was really a cool trick. It would be nice to learn, no doubt.

"Jaco, you're okay with this revival thing?" Bulma asked of the space policeman, sitting cross legged on the Namekian grass and fanning herself with her hand. Who knows how long Goku would take? Best to start a conversation to pass the time.

"Why wouldn't I be? It would be heartless to oppose such an altruistic action" Jaco replied, raising an eyebrow in apparent confusion.

"Well, you're always going on and on about space laws, I was wondering if there was one on revival"

"Look lady, I think you need to get more familiar with galactic laws. To really understand them, you've got to start with the beginning of the first Galactic Patrol, founded by a man with a sword..."

* * *

Moori's garden was growing beautifully. A day with all three suns perfectly focused was rarer than on their old planet, and as such, days like this began to be called an omen of either great misfortune or fortune. The Namekian had decided that it was a day of fortune. Native Namekian plants were taking to the soil perfectly. These were the first steps towards restoring the Namekian forests that used to exist. As the elder began to water his plants, he noticed a pair of shoes on his lawn. With a sigh, Moori prepared to lecture some young fool on respect. But as his eyes drifted upward, he instead saw Goku, Piccolo, and some badly wounded young man. He was so stunned that he dropped his watering can, his jaw dropping as he staggered back.

"Elder Moori! We're sorry to scare you" Goku said bashfully, extending an arm lightning quick to help right the elderly Namekian. Moori held his chest, having just about had a heart attack of fright. Given a second to recover though, the old friend smiled in return.

"Goku, I was not expecting you. Nor you, son of Katas" Moori said, quickly regaining his breath. Indeed, the three suns were a good omen. Seeing old friends like these was always an occasion for joy. His smile dropped a bit as he noticed the wounded youth in the arms of the Nameless Namek. "Who is he?" Moori asked, unable to recognize the man by appearances alone. Goku moved to answer but the voice died in his throat, remembering Piccolo's look on King Kai's planet.

"He's...a friend. But he's badly hurt. Can you help him?" Goku said, his normally optimistic voice cracking a little bit. It hurt so much to deny that the boy in Piccolo's arms was his son. Especially when Gohan had just about denounced him as a father. Moori cocked his head to the side, but did not press the issue further.

"I will see what can be done. Keep in mind, our healers may not even do the job. This wound has been sitting for several minutes, after all" Moori cautioned, taking the boy's body in his arms. It was much lighter than he expected. With such a muscular frame(though the Namekian noticed patches of loose skin where muscle had disappeared), he had expected more. Instead, the boy felt as if he was practically wasting away. "You may wait here. The healers are on a meditative trip and it is best for them to not be distracted by strangers. No offense" Moori said, giving a small smile in an attempt to lighten the mood. Goku cracked an even weaker one and Piccolo growled. The air felt so awkward, it could be cut with a knife. Deciding that this was incredibly serious, Moori took off with the boy at full speed, leaving Piccolo and Goku to their devices.

"Okay, Piccolo, why do you want me to avoid saying Gohan's name?" Goku asked, turning to the Namekian as soon as he was sure that Moori was out of earshot. Piccolo didn't reply at first, simply turning away and putting a finger to his forehead.

"There's something wrong with him. If it just blows over, then there's no point in making everyone remember it" Piccolo said at first, turning back to look at Goku. Goku nodded, trying to prompt Piccolo to go further. "It's his ki. It's changing, warping" Piccolo finally responded, causing Goku to take on a deathly pallor. That couldn't be true. It must be a mistake. Goku looked at Piccolo for any sign of this being a joke, but received none. "It's not a good change either. His life force is becoming poisoned by something. I don't quite know what, but unless the healers can get it out, we're going to have big problems" Piccolo continued, suddenly punching the ground with his left hand. The ground dimpled, broken by the Namekian's anguish. "We might have to kill him"

"Kill him? No, no, that can't be right. It's just a ki change. My ki changes when I go Super Saiyan and I'm fine" Goku insisted, shaking his head and trying to rationalize this. A ki change was a serious thing. Usually, only a transformation would bring it on. The only other person whose ki he had seen change was that of the Majins', whose ki became impossible to sense.

"Ki is a part of our life force Goku. It's made of who we are on the inside" Piccolo replied, drawing on Kami's knowledge now. "When you become a Super Saiyan, your ki becomes more aggressive, but it's ultimately still you. But Gohan's ki has always hidden something monstrous inside of it. We saw a glimpse of it at the Cell Games and we are seeing it again. But this time, will Gohan want to even resist it? After all, the man he called father just let his family die" Piccolo said, his voice taking an acidic tone as he finished. Goku moved a hand to his chest, as if those words had been a Death Beam from Freeza.

"I didn't mean to...you know I didn't mean to" Goku said in a weak voice. In retrospect though, he was regretting everything he had done. That look of betrayal and hurt in Gohan's eyes had cut him to his core.

"He doesn't see it that way. He might just give in to the monster inside of him, he might destroy himself. And he would do it with a smile if it meant getting revenge" Piccolo said soberly, not showing whether or not he agreed with Gohan that Goku was to blame. To some extent, the Namekian understood Gohan. Goku's recklessness had enabled Freeza. But if Goku was responsible for the death of Gohan's family, then Gohan was responsible for the death of Goku during the Cell Games. Piccolo was no hypocrite, so he stayed quiet. Right now, it was more important to focus on Gohan's recovery.

* * *

As Moori flew onwards, his mind began to wander. Who was this boy? And why was he so badly wounded? Curiosity gnawed at Moori's innards as he approached the healers. Would it be unethical to use the mind reading ability of the Grand Elder on this boy? Moori's hand began moving to the youngster's face, internally justifying this to himself. It was hardly a huge breach of privacy. The Namekian wasn't going to be telling anyone, after all. It was just out of curiosity. Moori's hand moved to the boy's face and began to glow.

The mind was dull at the moment, as was to be expected of someone unconscious. Moori dug deeper, trying to find the memories below the conscious mind. This was much easier with someone who was awake, but he could make do. After all, he was the new Grand Elder. This sort of thing wasn't all that hard. Moori's optimism died as he dug too deep into the mind of the boy.

Gray flames of a ki aura grew off of the body of the boy, jolting Moori out of his mind reading. The boy's eyes opened slightly, black cores boring into Moori's soul. Moori stopped in mid-air, his body trembling as those eyes began to turn gray as well. It wasn't any sort of brilliant gray either, no, it was a mishmash of colors that would be found in storms. The boy gave him a pained smile and cocked his head up a few inches.

"Hello, Moori. It's me, Gohan"


	4. Purge

A/N: Thanks to all the nice reviews!

Moori's mouth gaped open and closed several times, unable to believe the revelation that had been thrown at him like a bomb. Gohan's slate gray eyes were dull and unfocused, but still dangerous. Moori knew full well he was holding a ticking time bomb. The hatred that was ravaging Gohan's innards was easy enough for him to sense. If he had any sense, he'd put the boy out of his misery right now. It would be better than letting his anger stew and intensify. But Moori had a heart. Pure pragmatism, it was not the Namekian way. And so Moori nodded.

"Gohan...it has been a long time" Moori said, enunciating each word carefully. The wrong word, and the powder keg would explode. Gohan's eyes showed very little reaction, still maintaining that drugged look. It suddenly occurred to Moori that once the drowsiness was gone, Gohan would feel the pain of his ruined arm again. What kind of reaction would he have? Moori gulped hard and sped up his flight.

"How did I get here?" Gohan groaned, his mind still groggy. He could barely see straight and a horrible, bruise-like pain was on the back of his neck. Thankfully for Moori, Gohan didn't turn his head to the arm.

"Well, Gohan, err...Freeza's army attacked. And you were caught off-guard" Moori lied, saying the first thing that came to mind. If he told the truth, Gohan was certain to become enraged. Besides, it wasn't a complete lie. Gohan had certainly been caught off-guard and Freeza's army had indeed attacked. Gohan seemingly accepted his answer, before closing his eyes to rest them.

"Are we going to the healers?" Gohan said, his tone sleepy. Whis's chop had certainly worked him over, and Gohan was horribly fatigued.

"Yes, Gohan, yes, we are. Now, just keep sleeping. The healers can't heal fatigue" Moori urged, mentally crossing his fingers. Please, let Gohan be too tired to ask questions. Gohan's eyes cracked open just a slit, his gray aura making a sound like breaking wood as it flared up a bit more. The slate gray flames of ki became more violent for an instant before subduing entirely. Gohan let out a grunt of acknowledgement before fully closing his eyes and letting his breathing calm. Moori let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Now, it was time to fix Gohan's mind. The Namekian Elder placed a palm to Gohan's head and used his telepathy again, exercising more caution this time.

Gohan's mind was torn, golden lights being snuffed out by a wave of gray that smothered all in its path. With the utmost care, Moori took the gray and buried it into the subconscious. The gold was weak and barely alive, but there was nothing Moori could do for it. The most Moori could do was bury the gray and hope that the gold could survive now. As Moori exited the mindscape, he checked Gohan's eyes. Pulling the eyelid up revealed that the eyes were their usual onyx. Good, the bad ki had been subdued. It was now up to Gohan's shouki to be strong enough to repel the rest of the gray.

"Elder Moori!" said a Namekian healer, jolting Moori from his thoughts. He saw four young healers around him, each wearing a face of concern.

"Ah, hello. Why are you not meditating?" Moori asked, making a gesture with his hand to keep the volume down.

"We felt a poisonous ki near you. We felt it would be best to check it out" one of the healers said, looking down at the boy in Moori's arms. "Was he wounded by the poisonous ki?" the healer asked, causing Moori to bite his lip. He knew Namekian rules full well, they would never heal a bad person. But Gohan wasn't a bad person, was he? That toxic ki was only temporary, Gohan wasn't like that. Moori dropped pragmatic concerns and listened to his heart. Gohan had helped them. He deserved the benefit of the doubt.

"Yes, the ki wounded him" Moori answered, quickly moving a hand up to tell them to stop. "Ask no further, this matter is too complex to lay out at the moment. We must heal him now" Moori said, alighting on the ground and laying down Gohan's limp body onto the grass. The healers shrugged and moved to Gohan's sides, their hands emanating a golden light as they did their best to repair the hideous damages.

"This wound is minutes old. How did he get hurt?" one of the healers asked.

"I'm not at liberty to say. Please, I will explain this all later" Moori pleaded, hoping the healer didn't press further. The healer gave Moori and odd look, but returned to his work.

"If he had been here immediately, we could have fixed him. As it is, the nerve damage is irreparable" the healer who had asked noted. "We may set his bone and flesh, but he will never be able to properly use this arm again"

"Oh my. Well, in tha-" Moori began, before he was cut off by the sound of crackling. Oh no, this couldn't be happening, not now. The youth began to slowly get up, using his wounded arm almost as a crutch to get up. At the very least it wasn't outwardly damaged. Hopefully, Gohan wouldn't notice. That horrid, hazy aura grew in strength and now that Gohan was standing, Moori could properly look at it. Most auras had a spiked, jagged, or curly edge that would loop itself endlessly. This aura of Gohan's, it was nothing like that. It seemed to seep out a smog endlessly, making the aura enormous by comparison to many others. Within a five foot radius of Gohan, it looked as if mist was coming out of some breed of machine. Gohan cracked his neck, revealing the ugly bruise on his neck had disappeared. Moori practically beat himself up for his stupidity. Why hadn't he told the healers to avoid that?

"Ah, I forgot how good Namekian healing feels" Gohan said, remarkably casual for having an aura that looked like factory emissions and eyes that might as well have been pebbles of slate. He lazily extended his good arm and held up his palm. Moori had no time to cry a warning before there was a sound like a falling tree as Gohan fired a blobby, smoking blast of ki towards an island, obliterating it. Moori and the healers lay on the ground, covering their faces and cowering from the sudden attack. "Hehe, man up" Gohan snorted, looking down at the fallen Namekians with a fair bit of imperiousness. Just as Moori was about to rebuke Gohan, he noticed tinges of gold returning to the aura. Gohan staggered on his feet, clutching at his head. This kindled some new hope in Moori. Gohan was showing enough inner strength to repel the gray. Gohan leaned against a rock, grabbing at his head. His bad arm twitched and spasmed as he did so, the nervous damage obvious for anyone with eyes. Gohan let out a bloodcurdling, raw scream as his ki exploded outward, gray and yellow strands infusing and battling for dominance.

"Easy, Gohan" Moori said, scrambling to his feet and moving to support Gohan's violently shaking body. The gray smoke twisted and disappeared, the gold pushing outward slowly. Gohan let out a hacking cough, bits of the gray spilling from his mouth as it was purged from him.

"I-i'm s-sorry" Gohan managed to get out, coughing out even more of the poisonous influence created by his grief. Moori nodded, patting Gohan's back as the ki continued spilling out of him. This would be with Gohan for the rest of his life, but hopefully, by purging the majority of it now, it would be easier to handle. Then came the distinctive "fwoosh" of Instant Transmission. Moori's eyes widened and he did his best to turn Gohan's head. If he saw Goku now, this would all be for naught.

Goku was just about to open his mouth when Piccolo clasped his fingers over it, making a "shh" motion with his free hand. Goku nodded in understanding and moved behind a rock, huffing somewhat childishly. Okay, so maybe he had been a bit reckless in just teleporting here. But he had felt a massive spike in ki. That demanded investigation! It had nothing to do with looking for a good fight. Not at all, right? Eventually, Gohan's seemingly endless howling stopped.

"Now you can come out" Piccolo said, turning the corner and causing an excited Goku to leap out, eager to see what had become of his son.


End file.
